Court Opens Health-Care Debate With Law That May Derail Case

By Greg Stohr – The U.S. Supreme Court opened today (Mar 26, 2012) its historic review of President Barack Obama’shealth-care law, three days of arguments that might result in the president’s premier legislative achievement being found unconstitutional in the middle of his re-election campaign.

The six hours of planned debate that began this morning is the most on a case in 44 years. The core dispute — the law’s upcoming mandate that uninsured people purchase coverage –comes on the second day.

First, the justices today hear arguments on a seemingly arcane question: Does the penalty for failing to get insurance amount to a tax?